“We Didn’t Start The Fire” was an accidental hit that captured craziness · We're No. 1 · The A.V. Club Share Tweet In We’re No. 1 , The A.V. Club examines a song or an album that went to No. 1 on the Billboard charts to get to the heart of what it means to be popular in pop music, and how that concept has changed over the years. In this installment, we cover Billy Joel’s “We Didn’t Start The Fire,” which went to No. 1 on December 9, 1989, where it stayed for two weeks. As the end of the ’80s approached, Billy Joel was at a crossroads. Career-wise, he was branching out successfully, between his 1987 concerts in the U.S.S.R. and his leading-dog appearance as Dodger in Disney’s 1988 cartoon Oliver & Company. His marriage to Christie Brinkley was also on seemingly solid ground. However, Joel’s financial life was another story.

The piano man was enmeshed in a massive multimillion-dollar lawsuit with his ex-manager (and, to complicate things, ex-brother-in-law) Frank Weber—a lawsuit that, when filed in 1989, sought “more than $90 million in damages for fraud and breach of fiduciary duty,” reported Rolling Stone . Plus, he had a painful kidney stones episode the day before the suit was filed, just one in a long line of high-profile brushes with the affliction. In light of all this, it’s no surprise that Joel’s notoriously restless nature flared up as he geared up to write and release what would become his 11th studio LP, 1989’s Storm Front. “Billy’s the kind of guy that likes to change things,” says Liberty DeVitto, who drummed for Joel from the mid-’70s to the mid-’00s. “He doesn’t like to do the same thing. It doesn’t matter what it is—musicians, studios, wives, whatever. He doesn’t stick around with things too long.

I think I was there the longest of anything he’s ever done.” In the case of Storm Front, Joel decided not to work with producer Phil Ramone—who had worked with him on every album from 1977’s The Stranger to 1986’s The Bridge—and instead chose Foreigner’s Mick Jones as producer. (Eddie Van Halen was also in the running, but the timing didn’t align.) “Billy was a formidable songwriter to start with, so going in and critiquing him, I had to summon up a bit of strength there to face doing that,” Jones recalled in 2013 . “But it worked very well.” Joel also shook up his touring band, replacing guitarist Russell Javors and bassist Doug Stegmeyer. “I remember we were in Australia,” DeVitto says, “and Billy got me in his dressing room at the Sydney Entertainment Centre, and said, ‘What do you think if I made an album with a whole new band and just you?’” The drummer was torn; Javors and Stegmeyer were long-time pals—in fact, he had known the former since he was 14 years old. “That statement threw me back, like, ‘Oh my God.

These are my friends,” DeVitto recalls. “But you have kids to support—and his name’s on the cover—so what can I say, but, ‘Uh, yeah, okay.’ I thought hopefully he would tell them, but they found out on MTV, when MTV announced it.” Despite this turbulence, Storm Front emerged rather seamlessly, hitting the top of the Billboard charts two months after its release—the same week the album’s lead single, “We Didn’t Start The Fire,” was also at No. 1. “We Didn’t Start The Fire” was uncharacteristically aggressive for Joel, de-emphasizing piano and playing up flashy electric guitar squeals and shouted, forceful vocals. Lyrically, it was also intriguing—not a character study, mini-story, or a love song, but a stream-of-consciousness tune that recited major historical events, personalities, and trends stretching over four decades. For as complicated as the verses are, DeVitto took a relatively direct approach to his drumming on the song. “I just started playing straight ahead,” he says.

“I laid down the basic drums that you hear during the verse—it’s just straight bass drum on the one and three, snare drum on the two and four and then in the chorus, I just go straight bass drums, straight fours. That’s the only thing that I do on that song.” Some of the song’s additional percussive sizzle comes courtesy of ex-John Cougar Mellencamp touring band member Crystal Taliefero; DeVitto says her audition for Joel’s band was actually playing the congas on the song. “When we recorded it, there was Crystal on congas, me on a snare drum and Billy on the timbales, and we did it all at once,” he says. “Billy said that he wanted that… world [music] sound. It’s purposefully not perfect. It’s not like if perfect studio musicians went in and recorded that part. It’s kind of sloppy.” According to DeVitto, “We Didn’t Start The Fire” was a last-minute addition to Storm Front. “The song turned up when we thought we were done,” he says. “We had recorded ‘I Go To Extremes’; everything else was recorded.

CBS Records came in to hear what Billy had, and when he played the album for CBS, they said, ‘Well, we hear the second single, but we don’t hear a first one yet.’” Thankfully, Joel happened to have a song called “Jolene” handy—“It went, ‘Jolene / Won’t you take me as I am / Jolene/ Just an ordinary man,’ something like that,” DeVitto says—that he was able to use as a starting point for ‘We Didn’t Start The Fire.’” Interestingly, Mick Jones noted that this “Jolene” song wasn’t rock-leaning, but “kind of started out as a country song. I said to Billy, ‘This song sounds so familiar, it sounds like a Dolly Parton song,’ and he said, ‘What?’ He got really pissed and he locked himself away in a room with, like, a Time Life almanac of historical events since his date of birth, and that’s where he came up with the lyrics.

He walked proudly back into the studio and said, ‘Well, take a look at this one.’ And I said, ‘Well, that’s more like it!’” Over the years, Joel himself has shared slightly different accounts of the lyrical impetus for “We Didn’t Start The Fire.” In 2001, he told Performing Songwriter the gathering of chronological facts and events was a “mental exercise” and “kind of a mind game. That’s one of the few times I’ve written the lyrics first, which should make it obvious why I usually prefer to write the music first, because that melody is horrendous. It’s like a mosquito droning. It’s one of the worst melodies I’ve ever written.” In 2003, he was quoted in Fred Bronson’s The Billboard Book Of Number One Hits as saying the song arose out of a discussion with a younger person lamenting the state of the world and crises such as AIDS, pollution and “the situation in Red China.” DeVitto’s recollection of how the lyrics to “We Didn’t Start The Fire” came about hews closely to the latter remembrance.

“Some kid came up to him and said, ‘You know, we’ve got it pretty tough these days with everything that’s going on in the world. You guys had it really easy,’” he says. “Billy said, ‘What are you talking about? We came out of World War II, we had the Cold War,’ and he named all of this stuff that we went through—the Cuban Missile Crisis and all of that kind of stuff. Then he came up with the idea, ‘I’m going to write a song, that we didn’t start the fire—it’s been burning forever and it will go on and on.’ “I can remember him standing in the studio with this book called Chronicles, this really thick book about history, and he just kept flipping the pages from 1949 until the year Storm Front came out,” DeVitto continues. “He rearranged them so that they rhymed, but that’s how we got the song.” Musically, it didn’t seem like there was any question that with such weighty lyrics, “We Didn’t Start The Fire” would have to turn into a hard-hitting, accessible song.

“It needed a good kick in the ass to get away from the pseudo-intellectual type of recording,” Joel was quoted in The Billboard Book Of Number One Hits. “It needed to be played like a rock & roll song.” Indeed, “We Didn’t Start The Fire” succeeded because of its contrasts, starting on a macro level with how its AP World History songwriting foundation juxtaposed with its straightforward, rather simple arena-rock flourishes. But the opposing forces within the song’s structure also made it compulsively listenable. There’s the airy, falsetto chorus clarifying its manifesto (“We didn’t start the fire / It was always burning / Since the world’s been turning”) sandwiched within the impeccably arranged verses, which crisply deliver a litany of facts; in addition, there are occasional sound effects (the Psycho soundtrack orchestral stab, a cheering baseball crowd) augmenting important lyrical points Joel makes. Even Joel’s own unorthodox way of composition created productive friction, especially when paired with his band members’ individual skills. “You know, Billy writes a lot of rock songs, but he writes in a classical form,” DeVitto explains.

“There’s videos out there of him playing ‘The Longest Time’ like a classical player would play them. So his ideas are not necessarily written in a rock [form], but when you get into the studio, I’m a rock drummer—that was the combination that we had that was great. He was classically taught and I’m a rock drummer from the street. The combination made great songs, but palatable to the regular person.” More than anything, the intricacy of the lyrics (and the depth of the topics addressed) made “We Didn’t Start The Fire” a song that provoked. It invited listeners to be curious, to dig deeper—to learn who Roy Cohn or Syngman Rhee is, or the significance of “British politician sex” or why “homeless vets” and “hypodermics on the shore” matter. 1989’s other No. 1 singles were a mixed bag of sweeping ballads, danceable pop trifles and fluffy novelty tunes—for example, “We Didn’t Start The Fire” was preceded at No. 1 by Milli Vanilli’s “Blame It On The Rain”—and so the song’s ascension meant Joel was giving radio a stealth education in politics, history, and pop culture.

In a global sense, it was the perfect song to put a bow on the ’80s, a decade where high/low culture really came to prominence. “We Didn’t Start The Fire” certainly felt like a career turning point for Joel. The song was his last No. 1 single, and seemed to amplify a creative stubbornness (if not contrariness) that would eventually signal his move away from recording and releasing popular music. “That song’s about my life,” Joel told Rolling Stone at the time. “Most of my mail I get about that song comes from teachers who have said this is the greatest teaching tool to come down the pike since Sesame Street, which means a lot to me, since I once wanted to be a history teacher. But I wish people could understand that I did not write that song to be a hit—I wrote that one for me. And nobody liked it at first. One person in the studio said it gave them a headache.” Joel’s deep affection for the song likely explained his reluctance to change or update it to change with the times; charmingly, “We Didn’t Start The Fire” remains frozen in time, ending with the now-quaint “rock-and-roller cola wars” of 1989.

“Every time we went on tour after that, we tried to ask Billy to please update it and he just said, ‘I’m not doing [that]. Forget it,’” DeVitto says. “You know, he could have written more verses; the older the song gets, the more things happen. But he didn’t want to do it. It ends with the cola wars, that’s how long ago [it was]. “If it was a history textbook, you’d find it in a garage sale.” Yet for as dated as “We Didn’t Start The Fire” is, its underlying feelings of uncertainty and insignificance are timeless. The song represented a man facing his mortality as he examines the last 40 years of his life, someone who feels wary about what the future might bring—especially because he realizes how ephemeral life really is, and how powerless people are to change things: “We didn’t start the fire / But when we are gone / It will still burn on and on and on and on.” Certainly this outlook isn’t exactly cheery or optimistic. But by putting forth the idea that no generation is unique—each has its own crises and issues to tackle and contend with—”We Didn’t Start The Fire” ends up oddly comforting.

As Joel himself put it in The Billboard Book Of Number One Hits: “What I wanted to do, lyrically, was sum up at the end of each of these years of names and faces and say, ‘Hey, we didn’t start this mess, we certainly did our best to make it better. It’s not something we started and it’s probably not something we’re going to be able to finish. “For the forseeable future, this kind of craziness is going to go on and on. That’s how life is.’” Billy Joel – We Didn't Start the Fire Lyrics | Genius Lyrics This page is accessible to Verified artists on the song Locked This song has been locked and is considered "done." You need 600 IQ to add annotations to locked songs. What makes the song important? “We Didn’t Start the Fire” is a constant reminder that no matter how crazy times may seem today, they have always been crazy and will continue to be crazy as long as life continues to exist. It is a time capsule of political and cultural events that enlighten the listener to the moments that shape Billy Joel’s perspective of the world.

Particularly striking is the pattern of events that succeeded World War II and led through the beginning, middle, and end of the Cold War. There are constant reminders that a devastating nuclear war threatened large populaces on the planet and though you yourself may live in a time or turmoil and struggle, Billy Joel plants the chronological stake that claims his formative years were shrouded by the universal acceptance of legitimate fears of the end of the world. What does the song sound like? Billy Joel has openly admitted that the structure of the song is basic and not up to par with most of his work. The song is performed with common instrumentation found in 1980’s pop rock. Bass guitar and drums maintain rhythm in the verses while synths and background vocals adorn the choruses. There are very few moments where Billy Joel’s vocals are silent, and this, as well as the uncharacteristically simple song structure, may have much to do with the focus of the song being the lyrics, almost exclusively. There is, however, a harmonic strategy that is rarely performed in covers and even in live versions of the song, and it leaves the song bereft of a major impact in its absence.

“Cadence” is a musical term referring to a series of notes that end a musical phrase. A cadence can be either open or closed. You can think of an open cadence in music as a person pushing a boulder up a hill, and closed cadence is the relief of pushing the boulder down the other side. A musical example is in the Isley Brothers' “Shout” where the gospel jubilation of the rhythm is interrupted by a moment of soulful confession. The last note of the confession is held for an extended period (open cadence) before the excited gospel starts again. The closed cadence appears at the start of the next phrase, acting like an emotional see-saw. Billy Joel - We Didn't Start the Fire (Official Video) - YouTube Billy Joel - We Didn't Start the Fire (Official Video) Want to watch this again later? Sign in to add this video to a playlist. Need to report the video? Sign in to report inappropriate content. Rating is available when the video has been rented. This feature is not available right now. Please try again later. Uploaded on Oct 2, 2009 In 1989, Billy Joel released his Grammy Nominated album Storm Front.

Watch the official music video for his #1 Hit Song "We Didn't Start the Fire." Listen to more of Billy Joel's top tracks. Music video by Billy Joel performing We Didn't Start The Fire. (C) 2011 Sony Music Entertainment Harry Truman, Doris Day, Red China, Johnnie Ray South Pacific, Walter Winchell, Joe DiMaggio Joe McCarthy, Richard Nixon, Studebaker, Television North Korea, South Korea, Marilyn Monroe Rosenbergs, H-Bomb, Sugar Ray, Panmunjom Brando, The King And I, and The Catcher In The Rye Eisenhower, Vaccine, England's got a new queen Marciano, Liberace, Santayana goodbye We didn't start the fire It was always burning Since the world's been turning We didn't start the fire No we didn't light it But we tried to fight it Billy Joel's official YouTube channel features music videos, live performances, interviews, TV appearances and more. Best known for his first hit song, "Piano Man", in 1973, Billy has written and recorded thirty- three Top 40 hits in the United States.

He is a six-time Grammy Award winner, a 23-time Grammy nominee and one of the world's best-selling artists of all time, having sold over 150 million records worldwide. Billy Joel is the sixth-best-selling recording artist and the third-best-selling solo artist in the United States. Category "We Didn't Start The Fire" - Association for Diplomatic Studies and TrainingAssociation for Diplomatic Studies and Training More Moments in U.S. Diplomatic History “We Didn’t Start the Fire” was a huge commercial success when it was released in 1989. It was Billy Joel’s third Billboard No. 1 hit and was nominated for the Grammy Award for Record of the Year. It’s also a great summary of history for the second half of the 20th Century. Its lyrics include brief, rapid-fire allusions to more than 100 headline events between January 1949 (Billy Joel was born on May 9 of that year) and 1989, when the song was released on his album Storm Front.

Billy Joel, a self-described “history nut” who wanted to be a history teacher when he was younger, got the idea for the song as he was talking with someone on the verge of turning 21, who averred that the world was an unfixable mess. Joel replied to him, “I thought the same things when I was 21”. The person replied, “Yeah, but you grew up in the 50’s and everybody knows that nothing happened in the 50’s”. Joel retorted, “Wait a minute, didn’t you hear of Korea, the Hungarian freedom fighters or the Suez Crisis?” Joel later said those headlines formed the basic framework for the song. He said later that “I had turned forty. It was 1989 and I said, ‘Okay, what’s happened in my life?’ I wrote down the year 1949. Okay, Harry Truman was President. Popular singer of the day, Doris Day. China went Communist. Another popular singer, Johnnie Ray. Big Broadway show, South Pacific. Journalist, Walter Winchell. Athlete, Joe DiMaggio. Then I went on to 1950….

It’s one of the worst melodies I’ve ever written. I kind of like the lyric though.” Joel has mixed feelings about the song. “It’s a nightmare to perform live, because if I miss one word, it’s a train wreck.” He has also called it a “novelty song” that does not “really define me as well as album songs that probably don’t get played”. Several of the events and people mentioned in the song are also subjects — in one way or another– of Moments in U.S. Diplomatic History so we thought it would be fun to combine the two. (Some pieces are more appropriate than others but humor us.) We will continue to add in new links as we get relevant Moments. Song copyright by Joelsongs; cover art copyright by Columbia Records. Go here to watch the video .

Lyrics for "We Didn't Start The Fire" by Billy Joel Harry Truman, Doris Day, Red China, Johnnie Ray South Pacific, Walter Winchell, Joe DiMaggio Joe McCarthy, Richard Nixon, Studebaker, television North Korea, South Korea, Marilyn Monroe Rosenbergs, H-bomb, Sugar Ray, Panmunjom Brando, "The King and I" and "The Catcher in the Rye" Eisenhower, vaccine, England's got a new queen Marciano, Liberace, Santayana goodbye We didn't start the fire It was always burning Since the world's been turning We didn't start the fire No we didn't light it But we tried to fight it Joseph Stalin, Malenkov, Nasser and Prokofiev Rockefeller, Campanella, Communist Bloc Roy Cohn, Juan Peron, Toscanini, Dacron Dien Bien Phu falls, "Rock Around the Clock" Einstein, James Dean, Brooklyn's got a winning team Davy Crockett, Peter Pan, Elvis Presley, Disneyland Bardot, Budapest, Alabama, Krushchev Princess Grace, "Peyton Place", trouble in the Suez We didn't start the fire It was always burning Since the

 world's been turning We didn't start the fire No we didn't light it But we tried to fight it Little Rock, Pasternak, Mickey Mantle, Kerouac Sputnik, Chou En-Lai, "Bridge on the River Kwai" Lebanon, Charlse de Gaulle, California baseball Starkweather, homicide, children of thalidomide Buddy Holly, "Ben Hur", space monkey, Mafia Hula hoops, Castro, Edsel is a no-go U2, Syngman Rhee, payola and Kennedy Chubby Checker, "Psycho", Belgians in the Congo We didn't start the fire It was always burning Since the world's been turning We didn't start the fire No we didn't light it But we tried to fight it Hemingway, Eichmann, "Stranger in a Strange Land" Dylan, Berlin, Bay of Pigs invasion "Lawrence of Arabia", British Beatlemania Ole Miss, John Glenn, Liston beats Patterson Pope Paul, Malcolm X, British politician sex JFK, blown away, what else do I have to say We didn't start the fire It was always burning Since the world's been turning We didn't start the fire No we didn't light it But we tried

 to fight it Birth control, Ho Chi Minh, Richard Nixon back again Moonshot, Woodstock, Watergate, punk rock Begin, Reagan, Palestine, terror on the airline Ayatollah's in Iran, Russians in Afghanistan "Wheel of Fortune", Sally Ride, heavy metal, suicide Foreign debts, homeless vets, AIDS, crack, Bernie Goetz Hypodermics on the shores, China's under martial law Rock and roller cola wars, I can't take it anymore We didn't start the fire It was always burning Since the world's been turning We didn't start the fire But when we are gone Will it still burn on, and on, and on, and on We didn't start the fire It was always burning Since the world's been turning We didn't start the fire No we didn't light it But we tried to fight it We didn't start the fire It was always burning Since the world's been turning We didn't start the fire No we didn't light it But we tried to fight itWriter/s: BILLY JOEL Publisher: Universal Music Publishing Group Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind We Didn't Start the Fire (Facts) History Summary from 1949-1989 by Ron Kurtus - Lessons Learned

 from History: School for Champions This lesson lists those people and events and gives a short explanation of their role in history.

1949 Harry Truman Harry S Truman became U.S. President when President Roosevelt died in 1945. He was responsible for dropping the atomic bombs on Japan and ending World War II. Truman initiated the Marshall Plan to rebuild Europe after the war. He started his second term in 1949, defeating Thomas Dewey. A famous picture shows him smiling and holding up the Chicago Tribune newspaper with the headline "Dewey Defeats Truman". During his second term, he brought the United States into the Korean War. Doris Day Doris Day was born in 1924. She started singing and touring with the Les Brown Band at age 16. She made her first movie in 1948 and soon became a popular movie star and singer. Red China Communists took control of China after a struggle that started before World War II and renamed the country the People's Republic of China. It was called Red China by the United States to indicate they were Communists. Red China entered the Korean War in the 1950s, when it looked like the U.N. forces would defeat Communist North Korea. Johnnie Ray Partially deaf singer, whose song Cry was a number-one hit.

Ray actually cried in performing the song. He was a top star in 1949 and 1950 with his other hit songs The Little White Cloud that Cried and Walking in the Rain. South Pacific South Pacific was a highly popular Broadway musical and hit movie. Walter Winchell Walter Winchell was a top gossip reporter, whose newspaper column and radio show could make or break a celebrity. Joe DiMaggio Joe DiMaggio was a popular baseball player for the New York Yankees. In 1941, he set a Major League record of hitting safely in 56 straight games. He was affectionately known as "Joltin' Joe" and "The Yankee Clipper" until he retired in 1952. DiMaggio married actress Marilyn Monroe in 1954, but the marriage lasted only 9 months. In the 1980s, he became known as "Mr. Coffee" because of his TV ads for that brand of coffee maker. He was also mentioned in the song Mrs. Robinson by Simon and Garfunkel. 1950 Joe McCarthy Joe McCarthy was a Senator from Wisconsin.

He was best known for his work chairing the Senate Committee on Government Operations, which focused on suspected communists in the government. He even investigated the Voice of America, He was known for his brutal interrogations of suspects, resulting in ruining the lives of both guilty and innocent people. It was later noted that McCarthy would be careful not to interrogate suspects who might resist his efforts. Usually, he picked on people with weak personalities. While investigating possible communists in the U.S. Army, the Army's attorney general Joseph Welch responded to McCarthy's interrogation of a young soldier. He told McCarthy, "Let us not assassinate this lad further, senator. You've done enough. Have you no sense of decency, sir? At long last, have you left no sense of decency?" Since the hearings were broadcast on national television, millions realized that these interrogations were not right. The hearings soon ending and McCarthy was left in disfavor. Richard Nixon Richard Nixon was a member of the House of Representatives from California when he became involved in the trial of Alger Hiss, who was accused of being a Communist and a spy. Nixon presented evidence that help prove Hiss guilty in 1950.

This advanced Nixon's political career, and he soon ran for the Senate and won. Nixon later became Vice-President under President Dwight Eisenhower. Years later, he became President of the United States. Studebaker Studebaker was a popular car in 1950. The styling consisted of a torpedo front end and read window. People joked that the car looked like it was going backwards. The company went out of business in 1966. Television Television became popular in the late 1940s and early 1950s. Most large cities had only one station. Sets in those days had 10 inch screens and were in black and white. Color was introduced in 1951, but it was years later until color television became universally popular. North Korea / South Korea Korea was split into north and south after World War II. North Korea became established as a Communist dictatorship by Soviet Union and Red China, after Japan was defeated. In 1950, North Korea attacked South Korea, starting the Korean War. The United Nations entered the war to defend South Korea. The Soviet Union made the mistake of walking out on the U.N. vote, allowing the measure to pass.

Since declaring war was not acceptable without the approval of Congress, President Harry S. Truman declared the fighting a "police action" to allow the entry of American troops. The war resulted in a stalemate, and Korea is still divided to this day. Marilyn Monroe Marilyn Monroe was a popular "sex symbol" movie star. She was married to baseball hero Joe Dimaggio and later author Arthur Miller. She also was rumored to have relationships with President John F. Kennedy and Robert Kennedy, as well as mafia boss Joe Gianconna. She died under suspicious circumstances. 1951 Rosenbergs The Rosenbergs were a husband and wife who were arrested and executed for selling secrets of the atomic bomb to the Soviet Union. H-bomb The hydrogen bomb was developed under the guidance of Dr. Edward Teller. It was many times more powerful than an atomic bomb and in fact required an atomic bomb to detonate. The United States exploded the first H-bomb and a few years later the Soviet Union then exploded their version of the bomb. Sugar Ray Sugar Ray Robinson was the middle-weight boxing champion of the world. At the time considered pound-for-pound the best boxer ever. He was also highly personable and popular.

Panmunjom Panmunjom, Korea is where negotiations between the United Nations—led by the United States—and the Communist North Koreans to end the Korean War took place. The separation between North Korea and South Korea was originally the 38th Parallel, but the new truce decided on a boundary between the countries that was more defensible. The countries also exchanged prisoners-of-war as a result of the Panmunjom negotiations. Brando Marlon Brando became a top movie actor. He was famous for his brooding and mumbling acting style. He received an Academy Award for his role in "On the Waterfront" that brought him to be a top box-office draw. Many years later, he starred in the "Godfather" movie. The King and I The King and I was a popular Broadway play and later turned into a movie starring Yul Brunner and Deborah Kerr. The Catcher in the Rye The Catcher in the Rye was an extreme popular book among teens, as it epitomized their attitudes and feelings. 1952 Eisenhower Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower ("Ike") had been Supreme Commander in the World War II fight against the Nazis. He later became a popular president of the United States.

"I like Ike" was the motto of his followers. Vaccine The vaccine to the dreaded disease polio was discovered by Jonas Salk and distributed to the world. England's got a new Queen On February 6, 1952, Queen Elizabeth 2 ascended to the throne upon the death of her father, King George 6. Her coronation didn't take place until June 2, 1953. This was a great event, not only in Britain but in all the countries of the British Commonwealth. It was also big news in the United States and many other countries as well. Filmed documentaries of the event circulated in Commonwealth countries for a long time after the event and every school child was taken to organized cinema screenings in school time. (Thanks to Jim Cable of New Zealand for his input) Marciano Rocky Marciano was the heavyweight boxing champion of the world. He retired undefeated. Liberace Liberace was a popular pianist and entertainer, who had his own TV show in the 1950s. He was known for wearing sequined tuxedos and having a candelabrum on his piano.

He is credited with advising singer Elvis Presley to also wear "fancy clothes" during his performances. Women adored Liberace, because of his sweet smile and wavy hair. Santayana good-bye Famed philosopher George Santayana died in 1952 1953 Joseph Stalin Joseph Stalin was the dictator of the Soviet Union. He was a harsh leader who had millions of his people executed or sent to labor camps in Siberia. On his way to political power, he changed his name to Stalin, which means "steel" in Russian. Malenkov Georgy Malenkov was a Soviet politician and Communist Party leader, and a close collaborator of Joseph Stalin. He briefly became leader of the USSR (March 1953-February 1955) after Stalin's death. Nasser Gamal Abdel Nasser was the second President of Egypt after Muhammad Naguib. He was considered one of the more influential Arab leaders in history. Prokofiev Sergei Sergeyevich Prokofiev was the most prolific Russian composer, pianist and conductor of the twentieth century. His works include such widely heard works ballets from Romeo and Juliet and Peter and the Wolf.

He died in 1953. Rockefeller Nelson and Winthrop Rockefeller were grandsons of oil tycoon John D. Rockefeller. In 1953, Republican President Dwight D. Eisenhower appointed Nelson as chair of the President's Advisory Committee on Government Organization. He served as Governor of New York from 1959 to 1973. He was the 41st Vice President of the United States of America from December 19, 1974 to January 20, 1977. Also in 1953, Winthrop Rockefeller—who was known as a playboy and hard drinker—moved from Florida and New York to Arkansas. It was jokingly said he moved there because he loved playing the banjo. Winthrop became Governor of Arkansas in 1966 and was said to be a great influence on future Arkansas Governor and U.S. President Bill Clinton. Winthrop was probably the Rockefeller that Billy Joel was referring to, since his playboy antics were more in the news than things that Nelson was doing. Nelson and Winthrop Rockefeller were the only brothers in U.S.

history to serve as governors at the same time until the late 1990s when George W. Bush and Jeb Bush became governors or their states. Campanella Roy Campanella was the all-star catcher for the Brooklyn Dodgers baseball team. His career was cut short by a paralyzing car accident. Communist bloc USSR and their satellite countries formed what was called the Communist bloc. 1954 Roy Cohn Roy Cohn was the advisor to Senator Joseph McCarthy during the McCarthy Hearings on Communists in the movie industry and government. Juan Perón Juan Perón was a popular leader in Argentina, elected first in 1946 and then again in 1952. Perón pursued social policies aimed at empowering the working class. His wife Evita was known for helping the poor. He was strongly anti-American and anti-British, confiscating much of the British and American-owned assets in Argentina. In 1955, he was overthrown by a military coup. It wasn't until 1973 that he returned to power. He died shortly afterward in 1974.

Toscanini Arturo Toscanini was a world-famous conductor, considered to have been one of the greatest classical conductors of all time. On April 4, 1954, while conducting a radio broadcast of the NBC Symphony at Carnegie Hall in New York, Toscanini suffered a memory lapse during the performance. That was the last time he conducted live in public. He died at the age of 89 in 1957. Dacron A new wonder-material Dacron hit the market. Dien Bien Phu falls The French lose control over Indo-China—now known as Vietnam—with the fall of the city Dien Bien Phu Rock Around the Clock Bill Haley and the Comets came out with what was considered the first rock-and-roll hit song, Rock Around the Clock. It was the theme music for the popular movie Blackboard Jungle. 1955 Einstein Albert Einstein developed the Theory of Relativity in 1903 and was considered one the world's smartest scientists. He became a popular figure in the later years of his life. He died in 1955.

James Dean James Dean was a movie star who became a symbol of young people for his role in the movie Rebel Without a Cause. After completing his next movie Giant, Dean decided to drive his new 1955 Porsche Spyder to Salinas, California to enter in a sports car race there. His mechanic rode with him. On the way there, Dean's car was struck by another vehicle which crossed the centerline. James Dean was the only one killed in the accident. The driver of the other car had minor injuries, while the mechanic was thrown from the car and suffered some broken bones. Brooklyn's got a winning team The Brooklyn Dodgers baseball team finally won the World Series over the New York Yankees. They later moved to Los Angeles. Davy Crockett Actor Fess Parker starred in the highly popular TV series Davy Crockett. The novelty song The Ballad of Davy Crockett became the number-one song in 1955. Coonskin caps—like Davy Crockett wore—also became popular among young boys. In the late 1950s, the U.S. military created what they called the M-29 Davy Crockett weapons system.

This was a tactical nuclear recoilless gun, intended to fire at enemy troops in the case of war with the Soviet Union. They probably gave it that name as a result of the television series. Peter Pan Peter Pan was a top Broadway play starring Mary Martin, who flew through the air as Peter Pan. Elvis Presley Singer Elvis Presley became a national phenomenon with such number-one hit songs as Heartbreak Hotel, Don't Be Cruel and Hound Dog. He was called "Elvis the Pelvis" because of the way he shook his hips while dancing. Many religious leaders and school officials banned his songs, which only made them more popular. He later went on to be nicknamed "The King" as the most popular singer ever. Disneyland Disneyland opened in 1955 in Anaheim, California. It was a theme park, developed by Walt Disney and based around his cartoon characters. It was designated as a place for family entertainment. An interesting and little-known fact is that although Disney forbade the serving of alcoholic beverages in Disneyland, he had a private suite in the park where bartenders would serve drinks to his personal guests. 1956 Brigitte Bardot was a popular French "sex-kitten" movie star.

Budapest Anti-communist riots took part in Budapest, Hungary. Soviet troops put down the revolt and arrested many Hungarians, especially students. Alabama In Montgomery, Alabama in 1955, African-American Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat in the "colored section" to a white passenger, after the "white section" was filled, as was the law at that time. She was then arrested for her act of defiance. That arrest resulted in demonstrations and a boycott of Montgomery buses by African-Americans that lasted until December 1956. Since the boycott was costing downtown stores and white businesses considerable money, negotiations were made to stop the action. But it took a Supreme Court ruling in November 1956 that segregation on transportation is unconstitutional to finally integrate the buses. This event was also a starting point for the Civil Rights movement of Martin Luther King and others. Khrushchev Nikita Khrushchev emerged as a leader in the Soviet Union after the death of dictator Josef Stalin. In 1956, he advocated reform and indirectly criticized Stalin and his methods. He became the Premier of the Soviet Union from 1958 to 1974.

Princess Grace Actress Grace Kelly left Hollywood to marry Prince Ranier of Monaco. She then attained the title of Princess Grace. Peyton Place The book Peyton Place became the number-1 best-seller. Teens often marked the "good parts" in the book, as they passed it among each other. The book is quite tame according to today's standards. Trouble in the Suez After Britain and the USA withdrew their financial support for the Egyptian Aswan dam project, General Nasser nationalized the important Suez Canal. Egypt was then invaded by British, French and Israeli forces. Under pressure from the United States the invaders left Egypt and a UN emergency force was sent to Egypt. 1957 Little Rock Nine African-American students enrolled at Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas. Governor Faubus ordered the Arkansas National Guard to surround Central High School to keep the nine students from entering the school, because he believed black and whites should be segregated, despite Federal laws on integration. President Dwight D. Eisenhower ordered the 101st Airborne Division into Little Rock to insure the safety of the students. The crisis gained world-wide attention. Pasternak Boris Pasternak was a Russian poet and writer.

He is best known in the West for his monumental novel on Soviet Russia, Doctor Zhivago. The book was also made into an award-winning movie. Although he was celebrated in Russia as a great poet, his book was banned in the Soviet Union for many years. Mickey Mantle Mickey Mantle was a great baseball player for the New York Yankee team. He batted both left- and right-handed, hit at a leading batting average, as well as led the league in home runs. In 1957, he was voted the most valuable player (MVP) for the second consecutive year. Kerouac Jack Kerouac was the author of the best-selling book On the Road, which epitomized the Beat Generation of the late 1940s and early 1950s. Upon achieving fame, Kerouac became a serious alcoholic and died at an early age. Sputnik Sputnik was the name of the first orbiting satellite sent into space by the USSR. Turmoil over its launch in the United States initiated the race for supremacy in space.

Chou En-Lai Chou En-Lai (Zhou Enlai) was the Premier and Foreign Minister of the People's Republic of China (also called Red China by Western journalists). He was a popular and practical administrator during the "Great Leap Forward" of 1958 and later pushed for modernization to undo damage caused by the "Cultural Revolution" of 1966 to 1976. Zhou was largely responsible for the re-establishment of contacts with the West during the Nixon presidency. Bridge on the River Kwai The Bridge on the River Kwai was a 1957 Academy Award winning movie about a World War II Japanese prisoner-of-war camp. 1958 Lebanon U.S. President Eisenhower ordered U.S. Marines into Lebanon at the request of Lebanese President Chamoun to help stop riots that were occurring in the country. Charles de Gaulle Charles de Gaulle returned to power as the leader of France. California baseball The Brooklyn Dodgers baseball team moved to Los Angeles Dodgers and the New York Giants moved to San Francisco. Starkweather homicide Charles Starkweather was a serial killer who made the news 1958 because of his gruesome murders.

Starkweather and his girlfriend, Caril Fugate, went on a killing spree of 11 to 15 people over a span of a month and a half. They were captured and he was executed in 1959. Children of Thalidomide Thalidomide was a medication intended for pregnant women to combat morning sickness and as an aid to help them sleep. Unfortunately, inadequate tests were performed to assess the drug's safety. Between 1957 and 1962, children of women who took the drug thalidomide during pregnancy were born with severe deformities, including only stubs for arms. Because of this tragedy, the drug was taken off the market in 1962. Of the 10,000 children born with birth defects, only 5000 lived beyond childhood. After years of research on the uses of thalidomide, it was allowed to be used to prevent nausea in chemotherapy patients, as well as treating painful skin conditions. In 2006, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration granted approval for thalidomide in special cases.

1959 Buddy Holly Buddy Holly was a popular singer and leader of the Crickets rock group. He was killed in a plane crash, along with singers The Big Bopper and Ritchie Valens. In 1971, the hit song American Pie referred to his death in the line "...the day the music died." Ben Hur Ben Hur was a spectacular movie starring Charlton Heston. It was set around the time of Christ. Space Monkey Starting in 1948. a number of monkeys had been sent into space in various rockets, but unfortunately all died during their flights. It wasn't until 1959 that Able, a rhesus monkey, and Miss Baker, a squirrel monkey, became the first monkeys to successfully travel in space and successfully return to Earth. The most famous "space monkey" was Ham, who was sent up in an American space satellite for a suborbital flight, as a prelude to sending a man in space. Ham was not really a monkey, but a chimpanzee. The actual year he went into space was 1961. Note: He was a mean little guy who would often try to bite the workers who put him in the space capsule.

Mafia Mafia leaders met in upstate New York to get better organized. Hula Hoops Hula Hoops became a national fad. Everywhere, you would see children and even adults trying to spin the large plastic hoop around their waist. TV celebrities would also display their skills with the hoop. The fad peaked and died out quickly. Castro Fidel Castro had been a wealthy lawyer, advocating social justice and protesting the influence of the United States in Cuba. He became involved in political activism and led the revolution to overthrow Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista in 1959. He was then sworn in as the Prime Minister of Cuba. Moving toward Communism, he alienated the United States. Castro was also known for his long-winded speeches. (See Fidel Castro's 1960 Address to the U.N. General Assembly ). Edsel is a no-go Ford Motor Company came out with a new car, the Edsel. The car was named after Edsel Ford, who was Henry Ford's son. The car was to fit in between the Ford and Mercury, but it was the wrong car at the wrong time and lasted only a few years until it was discontinued.

1960 U-2 The United States had been sending the secret U-2 high-flying spy plane over the Soviet Union to take pictures and gather information, when one was shot down by a Russian missile. The pilot Francis Gary Powers was taken prisoner and later released in an exchange for a Soviet spy who had been arrested in the U.S. An interesting note is that Kennedy assassin Lee Harvey Oswald was stationed at the military base where Powers' U-2 took off for the flight. No connection was ever made, but it did seem suspicious, Syngman Rhee Syngman Rhee was the first President of South Korea, serving from 1948 to 1960. His method of rule became unpopular, and he was forced to resign by a student-led democratic movement. Payola Many disk jockeys were exposed for taking bribes to pay certain songs on the radio, thus biasing the record sales. Top national disk jockey Allen Freed was convicted of payola. American Bandstand TV dance show host Dick Clark was accused of payola but found innocent. Kennedy John F. Kennedy was elected President of the United States in 1960.

He was assassinated in Dallas, Texas on 22 November 1963. Chubby Checker Singer Chubby Checker came out with the song The Twist, which started a national dance sensation. Soon, not only teens but also adults where doing the twist. The dance was responsible for popularizing "fast dancing" or rock-and-roll among adults. Chubby Checker's name was a spin-off of the name of the popular rock singer Fats Domino. Psycho Psycho was a thriller movie directed by Alfred Hitchcock. A young woman, Marion Crane—played by Janet Leigh—steals some money from work and leaves town, getting a room at the Bates Motel. A shy man, Norman Bates—played by Anthony Perkins—runs the motel with his domineering mother. The most memorable scene is when the character Marion is stabbed to death while taking a shower, apparently by the mother. But in the end, it was Norman who was "psycho" and took on the character of the mother to kill women who stopped at the motel. Belgians in the Congo The country of Belgian Congo gained independence from Belgium in 1960 to become simply the Congo.

For the next several there was civil strife, resulting in 100,000 deaths, as Congolese political parties fought for power. 1961 Famous author Ernest Hemingway committed suicide. Eichmann Former Nazi leader Adolf Eichmann was arrested in Argentina and brought to Israel, where he was convicted of war crimes and executed. Stranger in a Strange Land Stranger in a Strange Land was an award-winning fictional book by Robert A. Heinlein about Valentine Michael Smith, who was born during the first manned mission to Mars and was the only survivor. He is raised by Martians, and when he arrived on Earth he had no knowledge of anything about the planet or its cultures. In fact, he had never even seen a woman. But he was the legal heir to an enormous financial empire. He then explored human morality and the meanings of love and founded his own church, preaching free love. Many young rebels of the 1960s selected Stranger as their counterculture bible. Dylan Singer Bob Dylan led the folk music craze. Berlin The Soviets erected the Berlin Wall, dividing the city into the Russian-controlled part and the area controlled by the U.S., British and French.

Bay of Pigs Invasion In 1960, the Eisenhower Administration created a plan to overthrow Fidel Castro in Cuba. In April of 1961, newly-elected President John F. Kennedy allowed the attack on Cuba. Armed Cuban exiles sailed from Florida and landed at the Bay of Pigs in Cuba. Because of poor planning by Kennedy, as well as spies and U.S. government leaks, Castro was ready for the attack. The exiles were all either captured or killed. President Kennedy was greatly criticized for the failure of the mission. 1962 The movie Lawrence of Arabia starring Peter O'Toole won the Academy Awards. British Beatle-mania British rock group the Beatles took over the music scene, with numerous hit records on the Top-40 charts. Ole Miss University of Mississippi (Ole Miss) admitted its first black or African-American student, James Meredith, with U.S. Marshals enforcing the rules to integrate the school. John Glenn John Glenn became the first American to orbit the Earth in 1962. He had previously been a U.S. Marine test pilot, but in 1959 he was assigned to NASA as one of the original group of Mercury astronauts.

After he piloted the first American manned orbital mission aboard the Friendship 7 spacecraft, he was considered and American hero and given a tickertape parade. He later become a U.S. Senator. Liston beats Patterson Boxer Sonny Liston easily defeated Heavyweight Champion Floyd Patterson to gain the title. Liston was a large, mean-looking boxer that struck fear in the hearts of his opponents. He was finally defeated by Cassius Clay, who after the fight changed his name to Muhammad Ali 1963 Pope Paul Pope Paul VI was pope—or leader—of the Catholic Church from 1963 to 1978. He followed Pope John and completed the implementation of the goals of the Second Vatican Council. He became the first pope to visit six continents, but he also known to be an indecisive leader. His views were important to the world's Catholics. Malcolm X Malcolm X came into the news when he preached separation of the races as part of the Black Muslim teachings. His real name was Malcolm Little, and he was the son of a lay Baptist minister. His family had been harassed by white-supremacists a number of times. Apparently, three of Malcolm's uncles and his father were killed by white men.

After his mother was institutionalized as insane, Malcolm grew up in foster homes. He was discouraged in school from wanting to be a lawyer, because his white teacher said it wasn't a realistic goal for black people. He quit school and drifted through menial jobs, until he was arrested for burglary and sent to prison for 10 years. There, Little became a voracious reader and soon converted to the Islam religion. After leaving prison, he worked for the Nation of Islam—also called the Black Muslims in the popular press. He dropped his "slave name" and changed his name to Malcolm X. A compelling public speaker, Malcolm X gained publicity for the Nation of Islam and their concepts that whites were "devils" and that separatism was the best for his people. In 1963, he commented that he was not sad that President Kennedy was assassinated. This brought outrage from most of the white public. But he also started to separate from the Nation of Islam and its radical views. He moved toward orthodox Islam and started to champion economic and social equality for blacks. This brought about respectability among all races, but then members of the Nation of Islam made death threats to Malcolm X for separating from their movement.

Then in February 1965, he was assassinated. Three members for the Nation of Islam were arrested and convicted of the murder. British politician sex A sex scandal rocked British Parliament. Secretary of State for War John Profumo was highly respected and married, but after it was discovered that he had a several week affair with a showgirl named Christine Keeler, he was forced to resign. Not only did he lie to the House of Commons about the affair, but is was also found out that Keeler had also had a relationship with a senior naval attaché at the Soviet Embassy in London. JFK blown away President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas in 1963. Kennedy was riding in an open-top automobile in a presidential motorcade when Lee Harvey Oswald shot him through the head with a sniper rifle from a sixth floor window of a nearby building. Oswald was arrested eighty minutes later after killing a Dallas police officer. He was captured hiding in a movie theatre. He claimed he was innocent of killing Kennedy and was being set up as a patsy. Later, it was found that he confessed his guilt to his brother, who visited him in jail.

Oswald was killed two days later as he was being transported to the Dallas Country Jail. Nightclub owner Jack Ruby shot Oswald in front of police officers and a national television news audience. 1964 to 1989 Note: Billy Joel didn't put the following events quite in order by year. So we couldn't separate them out easily. Birth control Birth Control became an issue with the advent of the birth control pill. Later, abortion was legalized. Ho Chi-Minh Ho Chi-Minh was the leader of the Communist North Vietnamese, who first fought the French and then the Americans. Richard Nixon back again After losing the election for President to John F. Kennedy in 1960 and then losing his bid to be Governor of California in 1962, former Vice President Richard Nixon fought back to regain prominence in national politics. One interesting thing he did was to be a guest on the popular television comedy show Laugh-In. Nixon repeated the show's running gag-line, "Sock it to me" a number of times. It gave the impression that he was not such a dour person after all. Nixon was elected President in 1968. Moon shot The United States landed the first man on the moon.

Woodstock A farmer in the Woodstock area of New York state donated his land for a rock concert. Surprisingly, 600,000 rock fans showed up, making it the biggest rock concert ever held. Watergate Supporters and staff of U.S. President Richard Nixon were accused of breaking into the Democratic headquarters in the Watergate hotel. Nixon tried to cover up the fact and soon he forced to resign from office because of that cover up. Several of his staff members were sent to prison as a result of the affair. Punk Rock Punk rock hits the music scene with such groups as the Sex Pistols, who would spit at the audience. Begin Begin was Prime Minister of Israel. Reagan Former movie actor Ronald Reagan became President of the United States. Palestine Palestinians protested unfair treatment by the Israelis. Terror on the airlines Numerous airline hijackings were in the news. Ayatollah's in Iran The Shah of Iran—who was supported by the United States—was overthrown and Ayatollah Khomeini took over the country. Hostages were taken at the US embassy in Tehran and finally released 444 days later. Russians in Afghanistan The Soviet Union entered Afghanistan to "protect" Communist interests in the country.

Rebels were supported by the United States, and finally after a long, costly war, the Soviets were forced to withdraw from the country. Ironically, the Afghan rebels later used the arms supplied by the U.S. to fight the Americans. Wheel of Fortune The Wheel of Fortune TV show became a favorite. Sally Ride Sally Ride became the first American woman in space as a member of the Space Shuttle crew in 1983. Valentina Tereshkova of the Soviet Union was the very first woman in space in 1963, orbiting the Earth 48 times. Heavy metal, suicide One viewpoint is that Billy Joel had two topics here: Heavy Metal, where heavy metal rock comes on the music scene, and Suicide, where the suicide rate among young people seemed to be rising. (Billy Joel's website states: "heavy metsl, suicide") However in the 1980s, there were lawsuits against heavy metal groups of Ozzy Osbourne and Judas Priest, claiming that their lyrics encouraged and caused some young people to commit suicide. (Wikipedia has the lyrics without the comma)) Foreign debts Foreign debts were causing an increase in inflation, as well as a burden on American taxpayers.

Homeless Vets Many veterans of the Vietnam conflict became homeless. A major problem with them was drug addiction or alcoholism. AIDS AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome) disease started to spread throughout the world. Crack A potent form of the highly addictive drug cocaine called "crack" or "rock" had been rapidly spreading in the United States, especially in troubled neighborhoods. Bernie Goetz Bernie Goetz was a New Yorker who was concerned about crime in the city. After he got on a subway in the afternoon, four African-American youths approached Goetz and demanded $5 from him. He pulled out a gun and shot all four. Then he shot one of the youths again, as he lay on the floor, severing the spinal cord and paralyzing him. Goetz escaped but later turned himself in. Many N.Y. citizens deemed him a hero. The case brought about the debate as to whether people have the right to take the law into their own hands. Goetz was convicted only of illegal possession of firearms and sentenced to 8 months in prison. Afterwards, the youth he paralyzed sued and won a $43 million judgment.

Hypodermics on the shore News reports showed how hundreds of carelessly discarded hypodermic needles had washed up on the New Jersey shoreline. China's Under Martial Law In June 1989, thousands of protesters marched in Tiananmen Square in Beijing, China. Many were killed and China went under martial law until order was restored. Rock and Roller Cola Wars Pepsi and Coke battle for supremacy in the marketplace. Each hired musicians to promote their drink. Coke hired Paula Abdul, while Pepsi had Michael Jackson. They then started to try to outdo each other by getting other musicians and celebrities to help promote their drinks. Summary This gives you a good overview of what happened during that time period. Your character is important is how people see you Resources and references (Thanks to Justin Moore for contributing some of the facts.) The following are some resources on this topic.

MP3 audio We Didn't Start The Fire - MP3 (Remastered by Columbia Records 2014) $0.99 Websites Billy Joel Didn't Start The Fire | GRAMMY.com Billy Joel Didn't Start The Fire GRAMMY winner's "We Didn't Start The Fire" sparks a pop culture trip through time Billy Joel in "We Didn't Start The Fire" May 09, 2012 -- 4:51 pm PDT By Chuck Crisafulli / GRAMMY.com Welcome to Forgotten Videos. For some, these videos are forgotten, for others just filed away, and for others still, a totally brand-new discovery. Whichever category you fall into, each week we'll feature a video that's possibly been collecting dust when what it really deserves is a fresh look. Or vice-versa. … We're not here to judge, we just want to take you on a little trip down memory lane. Yep, you'll remember when hair was really that big, when drums were that up front in the mix, when video was young(er) and so were you.

Billy Joel "We Didn't Start The Fire" 1989 Five decades, multiple kitchens and more than 100 cultural milestones — those are the basic ingredients for Billy Joel's 1989 baby boomer apologia, the Record Of The Year GRAMMY-nominated "We Didn't Start The Fire." Lyrically, the song works as a rapid-fire rundown of burning headlines and pop culture sparks from the '40s through the '80s, with clever word pairings to boot ("communist bloc" rhymes with "'Rock Around The Clock'" and "Lawrence of Arabia" rhymes with "British Beatlemania"). For the song's video, Joel and director Chris Blum came up with the idea of moving visually through the decades, using one family's kitchen as the focal point. The particulars of that concept fell to art director and production designer Sterling Storm, who, over the course of the video's hectic three-day shoot, was tasked with accumulating hundreds of period-perfect details. From evolving refrigerators, lunchboxes and wall hangings, to Jell-O molds and floor tiles, every element of every frame had to be era-evocative.

"I hit every prop shop in Hollywood," recalls Storm, whose work earned him a nomination for Best Art Direction at the 1990 MTV Music Video Awards. "And I didn't sleep much." The production took a pre-digital approach to creating real flames. When Joel is seen sitting before a wall of burning iconic images featuring figures such as Lee Harvey Oswald and Oliver North, among others, he was in fact sitting feet away from 12' by 12' photo panels that Storm had blown up and then set fire to. "He could only sit there for about 20 seconds at a time before it got too hot on his back," Storm remembers. "And there were no second takes." The art director's most memorable moment on the set involved a smaller fire — the burning of a bra worn by a teenage daughter played by Marlee Matlin. "I had to rig her bra with rubber cement so it would burn quickly," says Storm. "At first she would take it off, I'd rig it, then she'd put it back on for the shot.

But we were under such a time crunch that the director asked me to just put the rubber cement on the bra while she was wearing it, and I said, 'OK.' I was totally focused on getting the job done, and I started rubbing rubber cement all over the bra when I hear this horrified gasp. I realize that without thinking about what I'm doing I'm basically manhandling Marlee Matlin's breasts. I must have turned red and I started apologizing profusely, but then she smiled and said, 'Just kidding, got ya.' She was a total trooper — just [messing] around with me to keep things fun. And on the next take she started the fire — the bra fire — without any trouble." Joel didn't have a problem starting a fire with this song either; it topped the Billboard Hot 100 and the album from which it's taken, Storm Front, reached the peak of the Billboard 200. We wonder what kind of fires Joel is starting now as today marks his 63rd birthday. Have you ever started a fire? Leave us a comment.

(Chuck Crisafulli is an L.A.-based journalist and author whose most recent works include Go To Hell: A Heated History Of The Underworld, Me And A Guy Named Elvis and Elvis: My Best Man.) Email Newsletter GRAMMY News in your inbox Similar Videos Billy Joel - We Didn't Start the Fire (Audio) - YouTube Billy Joel - We Didn't Start the Fire (Audio) Want to watch this again later? Sign in to add this video to a playlist. Need to report the video? Sign in to report inappropriate content. Rating is available when the video has been rented. This feature is not available right now. Please try again later. Published on Apr 9, 2013 In 1989, Billy Joel released his Grammy Nominated album Storm Front. Listen to Billy Joel performing his #1 Hit Song 'We Didn't Start the Fire.' Listen to more of Billy Joel's top tracks. Music video by Billy Joel performing We Didn't Start The Fire.

(C) 2011 Sony Music Entertainment Harry Truman, Doris Day, Red China, Johnnie Ray South Pacific, Walter Winchell, Joe DiMaggio Joe McCarthy, Richard Nixon, Studebaker, Television North Korea, South Korea, Marilyn Monroe Rosenbergs, H-Bomb, Sugar Ray, Panmunjom Brando, The King And I, and The Catcher In The Rye Eisenhower, Vaccine, England's got a new queen Marciano, Liberace, Santayana goodbye Since the world's been turning We didn't start the fire No we didn't light it But we tried to fight it Billy Joel's official YouTube channel features music videos, live performances, interviews, TV appearances and more.Best known for his first hit song, 'Piano Man', in 1973, Billy has written and recorded thirty- three Top 40 hits in the United States. He is a six-time Grammy Award winner, a 23-time Grammy nominee and one of the world's best-selling artists of all time, having sold over 150 million records worldwide. Billy Joel is the sixth-best-selling recording artist and the third-best-selling solo artist in the United States.

Category ‘We Didn’t Start the Fire,’ Billy Joel’s awful, educational hit, turns 25 – EW.com Pinterest Twenty-five years ago, on Sept. 27, 1989, Billy Joel released the first single from his then-upcoming album Storm Front. It was “We Didn’t Start the Fire,” a musical scrapbook of sorts that crammed the previous 40 years’ worth of American history catchphrases into just under five minutes, pausing after every four-year recap for its aggressively bouncy refrain: “We didn’t start the fire / No we didn’t light it but we’re tryin’ to fight it.” At the time of its release, some found “We Didn’t Start the Fire” to be a poignant statement on the decay of the collective American morale. John McAlley at Rolling Stone, for example, wrote that Joel chronicled “the steady erosion of our national spirit since 1949—incidentally, the year of his birth.” “The singer captures the carefree mood of ’49 in the first of a series of musical time capsules,” McAlley wrote.

“As the song rushes toward the present, it catalogs the crises that have compromised our dreams.” He also noted that the song ends “with a spirit-crushing litany of contemporary social horrors.” Of course, not everyone was thrilled with “We Didn’t Start the Fire.” A 1997 story in College Teaching points out that when Joel’s album was released, Columbia Records, in collaboration with Scholastic, Inc., distributed the song to 40,000 junior and senior high school classrooms, along with a taped talk from Joel—a self-professed history buff—titled “History Is a Living Thing.” Nevertheless, “We Didn’t Start the Fire” would go on to become both a Billboard No. 1 and an honorable mention on at least one list of the Worst Songs Ever , as well as an ever-springing fountain of inspiration for parodists and an occasional classroom resource for history teachers .

In 1994, after a performance at Oxford University, a woman—presumably an Oxford student—asked Joel whether he accidentally or intentionally chronicled the Cold War in “We Didn’t Start the Fire.” Thankfully, someone captured the exchange on video; Joel’s sprawling response is a little less than illuminating on that particular subject, but he offers a few marvelously entertaining extra tidbits about the origins and the legacy of the hit song he “didn’t think was really that good to begin with.” Below, watch Joel discuss his initial inspiration for the song (and what Sean Lennon had to do with it), whether he’ll ever update the song with any post-1989 material, and which lyric Joel added because he felt it was the “stupidest thing going on at the moment.” Show Full Article Billy Joel forgets words to We Didn't Start The Fire then makes hilarious save | Daily Mail Online comments He might be 64, but Billy Joel's latest performances have been universally praised for their energy and verve. The Piano Man, it would seem, can do no wrong; even when he forgets the words to one of his biggest hits AND says it's a bit rubbish.

That's just what happened at Toronto's Air Canada Centre on March 9th when he stumbled over the tangle twisted that is 1989's We Didn't Start the fire. Scroll down for video... Billy Joel, blown away... what else do I have to say? Brooklyn's finest tripped up on his classic 1989 hit, We Didn't Start the Fire in Vancouver When he got to 'Rosenberg's H-Bomb, Sugar Ray, Panmunjom,' he lost his train of thought. 'Wait a minute,' he said and quieted his band. 'That ain't right. All you gotta do is fuck up one word in that song and it's a train wreck.' After the brief slip up, the Brooklyn born star attempted to move onto the next song but the crowd cheered him into continuing. 'F*** it, on to the next song,' he said to deafening entreaties to continue. 'It's the same thing verse after verse,' he argued. Stop the music: Joel halts the band after his vocal stumble 'It's one of the worst melodies I ever wrote': Billy isn't a fan of his 1989 hit Joel continued: 'Just the words change.

It's one of the worst melodies I ever wrote.' Ever the people pleaser, however, Joel took one for the fans and segued into the 'Joseph Stalin, Malenkov' The rest of the song went down a storm. 'That'll be all over YouTube tomorrow,' he said. 'It's okay. It was an authentic rock and roll fuck up. We're not on tape. You don't see much of that anymore. Ok, let's hope we get through this one.' Joel's comeback hits Madison Square Garden every month for the foreseeable future.

Question: Who had a hit single in 1989 with We Didn't Start The Fire?
Answer: Billy Joel